Adam's B-day and 3Sister

SOOOOO. Real fast. We went to dinner this weekend with all of Alex's friends to celebrate Adam's birthday (which was about 3 weeks ago). Anyway-almost every single person was able to make it, which is a rare event now a days. It was way fun. We went to Sugarhouse BBQ so everyone ate their weight in pork and/or brisket. They were out of chicken. I know, right? Anyway, my clothes smelled like dead animal the next day, so it kind of made me sick, but that doesn't mean I don't love meat. I DO. Anyway, here are some pictures of it.

The whole group. Get ready for this: John, Rebecca, and Wesley Payton, Andy, Gary and Dana, Heather, Jake, and Emmett, Stevzie, Adam, Brandon, Mike, Me, Tessa, Alex, Brock and Danielle. That's right, they were all there.

Mike with his full rack of ribs. Yes, that's a lot of ribs.

Next-and most important (sorry Alex's friends)-3Sister is a go. What is 3Sister you ask? Well, last year Cailey-the little sis-started making headbands and hair clips out of feathers and buttons, etc. She first got this idea when she and Cessy bought some feather clips from Urban Outfitters for an extremely hefty price. Not really, they were probably like $25, but for a headband that seems a bit much. So Alex and I were talking about it the other day and he said it would be a good idea to make these accessories and then sell them at Simpable Things (my mom's huge thing). So I told the sisters, and Cailey said we should open a shop on etsy. So that is what we did! On Saturday we spent the day getting all of the supplies and then crafting our masterpieces. Now they are on our shop, which is lovingly titled 3Sister. No, not sisters. Alex, who deemed himself the manager of this operation, thought sisters sounded boring. So he changed it. So check it out-we're pretty excited about it!

See the excitement?

Toasting to our new venture.

We all have reddish hair now, so try and tell who's is who's. It's fun.

I No Longer Believe in Dino's....but I DO Believe in Lost.

Hey all. First things first, we went to Walking with Dinosaurs on Saturday and it was pretty informative. But, I no longer believe that dinosaurs existed. I just don't believe it. For those of you who don't know, I have this thing about dinosaurs. When I picture them, I always picture them as these enormous creatures. Like how enormous, you ask? Well, I picture them stepping over small mountains. That seems scarier/amazing-ier. So, we went to Walking with Dinosaurs, and I was super excited because, as I told Alex, "I'll finally get to see how big they really are." And guess what...those dinosaurs were tiny. So I don't believe they exist anymore. At least not the ones that I imagine. It's cool though, it was a good show. Here are some pictures below. No, we didn't take Tessa. We thought it would be more of an adult dino show-like some nudity and swearing. I jest, I jest.

Cessy likes to sneak on in at any moment.

Yeah-those are to scale. Small, right?

Then that night, we went with my Dad to see My Bloody Valentine:3D. I was also excited for this because, as I told Alex, "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like if an axe was thrown at your head? Now we'll know!!" It was awesome. And if you want awkward, go see that movie with your dad. Or Alex.

THEN. This is just a cute picture of Stone and Tessa at Noodles. It helps if you sing the theme song of Rob and Big while looking at this picture. It makes it better. (People let me tell you 'bout my best friend...)

Last. Lost. One of my co-workers/professors/besties had a kick A party for the season premiere of Lost. It was a dress up party, and there was food there such as "Jack" and Cheese, or Chicken Skewers with "Sawyer" Sauce. Or CupKates... If you haven't seen Lost, you won't get this at all. But if you have, clever, right? Anywho, it was also a dress up party. And who do you think won the costume contest?

That's right, this girl!

I went as Walt/Michael/Rose/Sayid. Anyone of an ethnic background (please don't be offended.) And I was a hit. This doesn't even do me justice-you can't even see my detailed freckles. Tessa wouldn't even hug me, she thought I was someone else! That's how awesome I really looked. I totally won a calendar. FYI, Cessy was Kate and Alex was Sawyer. These are the only pictures I got, because it was too intense. That's all for now!

Nothing Says Vegas Like Jersey.....Boys

SO. This weekend we got to go to Las Vegas with the Madsen Family, minus children, and it was so so fun. For those who don't know, my parent gave us tickets to se Jersey Boys for Christmas, so we flew down early Saturday morning and got home Sunday night. Jersey Boys was awesome. It could be up there with my favorite musicals ever, and I've seen a lot, so that's saying a lot. A lot a lot a lot. Anyway, the weekend was so much fun, even if Alex hates me when we're in a 15 passenger van with my entire family. Apparently he hates fun Chelsea and hates fun! I think we're going to do this blog with a picture timeline....yep, that's what we're doing. In the shuttle from the parking lot to the airport. I have a picture of each side, and my dad is in all of them. He loves fun.

Walking into the most magical Denny's ever. It was like "Tahitian Denny's". And if you refer to Cessy's post, you will see that Devon was able to fashion a giant straw to drink some water. That is how much fun we were having already, and we'd only been in Vegas 1 hour.

After breakfast, we shopped til we dropped at H & M. No pictures. I was too busy shopping. Women be shopping. Then we headed over to Caesar's Palace to wait for lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Well, much to our astonishment, Devon had never been to FAO Schwartz! So we took him in there to feast his eyes on Barbie Dolls and Battleships.

He loved it.

We all did!

Then we ate at Cheesecake Factory. While we were at our table, Coleman and Devon got into a heated debate about football and rankings or something like that. I don't know, I was taking pictures.

Coleman and Devon look mad because I told them I was trying to capture the moment. And Cailey was just being Cailey.

I love whipped cream. And I don't care if people know. This is a disgusting picture.

Then we finally got to check into our hotel/chateau. We had 3 suite things, with 2 or 3 rooms in them, but Alex and I were so special that we each got our own bed. We love not sleeping with each other.

Finally it was time to go to Jersey Boys. So the family gathered, took some pictures, and headed to the Palazzo, which may or may not be part of the Venetian. Coleman and Devon got into a heated debate about that also.

We look good. And no, I'm not pregnant.

I love playbills.

After Jersey Boys got out, it was only 9:30. So we were totally ready to party.

Leaving the Chateau, party faces on. Correction, just my party face.

On the strip. I totally invaded Cailey and Devon's moment.

So she invaded mine. Sorry for the bad picture.

Waiting to get into Club Pure...we never got in. We didn't even try.

Then, Cessy called. Zach had dropped her cell phone in the theater, and they needed us to go get it. I was totally helpful and really wanted to go walk the mile to pick up the phone. Long story short, we went over to pick it up, had to wait a half an hour for them to bring it up from their lost and found storage unit. When we got back to our room, there was a note on the door from Zach saying "went to get phone." So my stomach dropped, because they would get there and no phone would be waiting. Finally they got back, we had a few laughs about the situation, then went to bed.

Anytime we go anywhere with slot machines, Alex makes me play. I hate it.

So tired waiting for the phone. It was only midnight. We're old now! Even though we were exhausted, Alex made us stop to take this picture. He thought he would try his hand at art photography.

The next morning, we went to the brunch at the Paris Hotel. It was so good! I love breakfast when it's served in huge quantities. It makes it better somehow. We waited in line for a little bit, but then my grandma and grandpa sweet talked the hostess, and we totally line jumped everyone.

Cailey looked over the wall to see how long the line was. Little did we know, we wouldn't be waiting much longer.

So after breakfast, we all sort of hung out. Eventually we made our way to the movies where we saw Yes Man. It's pretty good. And if you have read Cessy's post you will know that Alex did in fact yell (in a whisper) because we were talking. Story behind this: Only Alex and I, my mom and dad, and Cam and Jen went to see Yes Man. The rest of the siblings had left the brunch earlier, and they went to see The Unborn (so jealous.). So, when their movie got out, they came into our theater-I realize this is dishonest, but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Unless of course you are reading my blog. When they sat down behind us, I turned around and said to Cessy and Ashlii, "Right now, he's just saying Yes to everything." I didn't want them to be confused. We laughed about it, and Alex didn't appreciate it. Maybe that's why he said he hates fun Chelsea. We'll never know.

Happy 2009

So I realize its not really New Years anymore. I mean, 2009 is already 5 days old. That's like 20 in dog years. Anyway, I figured I should post all of the bad A pictures I've been hanging on to. I got a new camera for Christmas, so obviously I've been going crazy with pictures. Well, it'll be obviously soon enough. Hey oh! First, I forgot to post the pictures of Tessa and Emma. They finally met over Christmas and they seriously loved each other. Emma is the cutest. She rivals Tessa. So here are the pictures I got...

I think I was more excited to see Emma at first. She's adorable.

Nextly, on New Year's Eve we got to take Tessa ice skating for the first time. Alex's friend TJ's dad is the manager of the Cottonwood Recreational Center, and his wife is the coordinator for the ice skating rink. It's all very complicated. Anyway, they rented out the whole thing from like 7 to midnight, so we took Tessa over. She actually did better than I thought she would. Not with the ice skating thing, she sucked at that. But she didn't totally freak out. She lasted about an hour, which was good since we had another party to go to at my brother's house. Which I did not get any pictures of. Sorry. But here are the other pictures!

Tessa with her skates.

Tessa and Vera. They're are best friends 4eva.

Steve, Mike, Tessa, and me. It looks like Mike is about to fall. I guess he almost got blown over with his thumbs up.

Tessa learning. So good.

Lastly, Alex's friend Mike (well, Mike's like totally my bestie, so I guess he's not Alex's friend. He's mine.) bought Coke from Costco, Alex kept calling it "Mexican Coke, because they have it in Mexico"-news flash Alex, Coke is from America. But Tessa loved the bottle. So we decided we're going to submit this to a modeling agency so they can see how well she connects with the product. We'll see if she gets any gigs.

The I Have Tag

The "I Have" Tag

Bold the ones you've done

I tried to bold them, and they didn't work. So I italicized the ones I've done.

1. Started your own blog - yes I have. No thanks necessary.

2. Slept under the stars - In a tent in my backyard. Alex thought I was too domesticated. We totally roughed it-especially when we plugged in our TV/DVD player with an extension cord.

3. Played in a band- I was the only one in the band. Then my dad gave my drums to some guy. Lamesville, right?

4. Visited Hawaii- No thanks. I've been to California, I hear it's basically the same.

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity - always.

7. Been to Disneyland - We actually didn't go to construction land Cessy-dad wouldn't pull over. I think Cole made him cry.

8. Climbed a mountain - I count that time I hiked to the reservoir as a mountain. That was my everest.

9. Held a praying mantis - I was a dirty kid.

10. Sang a solo - it was from South Pacific. And no family, I'm not making fun of Devon. I really did this.

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris - who hasn't?

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - I took this question to mean I saw it while it was at sea. I wasn't at sea, I was safe in my beach house.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - Blogging. And scrapbooking.

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning-I felt like I was having babies.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France- is there a different Mona Lisa in a different country that I don't know about. I've only heard of the one.

20. Slept overnight on a train - worst night ever

21. Had a pillow fight- Sometimes Alex and I do this. It's A-dorable.

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill-yeah, when I worked at the bank. Sorry Deb.

24. Built a snow fort -Thanks for nothing Cessy.

25. Held a lamb-probably.

26. Gone skinny dipping - I'm crazy

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden a gondola in Switzerland

29. Seen a total eclipse-of the heart.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset-senior sunrise, that is.

31. Hit a home run - on the Wii.

32. Been on a Cruise- Royal Monarch of the Seas

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person- yeppers, then we went to a haunted house in MAY!!!

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- I think someone is from Norway.

35. Seen Amish country - I wish.

36. Taught yourself a new language- I'm counting Elvish too.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I'm never satisfied.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke-I love it.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - I already give enough to charity.

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance- It was actually a fire truck, but I was in need of emergency medical assistance, so I guess it's the same.

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. -Gone to a drive-in theater. That's where I met my boo.

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason- Alex doesn't send me flowers on account of I don't like them, but he once got me a boquet of diet coke. It was great.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma-I can't. It makes me sick.

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp- I've been to the museum.

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- I saved Spike from Kenzie. That could've turned out bad..

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle-thanks Nate Carlson.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible - If I tell Alex I have then he won't make me read anymore.

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous- Lots of times. We have a room dedicated to it in St. George.

92. Joined a book club- It didn't last long.

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake-

97. Been involved in a law suit - just by association. I'm counting it.

98. Owned a cell phone-store that is.

99. Been stung by a bee - first day of kindergarten. I'll never forget.

100. One cavity or less -psh, no.

I tag: Whoever hasn't done this yet.

Christmas

As promised, this is my blog about Christmas. All in all it was a good day-there was good food and awesome presents, which we all know is what makes Christmas what it is. Just kidding-I know it's about Jesus. Anyway, this year Alex and I woke up before Tessa and opened our presents. Alex got a bunch of clothes and I got a new camera! Hey oh-I can totally be a photographer now. Then we had to force Tessa to wake up, because she doesn't care about Christmas yet. She only likes taking the wrapping paper off the boxes, then she's done. So she got a bunch of much needed clothes, and then my little ponies. Which were a hit. Then, we went up to Alex's parents house, where there was a little kitchen waiting for Tessa. She didn't care about anything after that. She just focuses on one thing for the day, and she doesn't do well with distractions. We stayed there for quite a while and ate some good breakfast and played Wii. Then we headed on over to my parents house and watched Friday Night Lights, which my mom swears is the best show ever. She also swears that Model UN and Debate were the "popular clubs" in high school (no offense to those of you who were a part of these clubs). But it was a pretty good show. Then we played some games, ate more food, and went home. So it was a pretty fun Christmas! Then the next day, we celebrated with Alex's extended family. It was kind of nice, because usually we do it all on the one day, so we're rushing from place to place. This year we just got to hang out and relax at each house. So it was a pretty good Christmas! Here's all my pictures-you'll really enjoy them. I dressed Tessa as a trophy wife. Seriously, she looked awesome.

Alex with his PEZ. He loves PEZ.

My new camera. I love pictures of people taking pictures.

Tessa with her animal print.

She was way excited about her ponies.

AND she loved when I gave her a box of socks. She kept saying "Socks!" It was funny.

Tessa's kitchen. It was really cute-it even had a blender. Leslie asked her to make her some juice, so Tessa proceeded to walk to the kitchen and ask Grandma to "get Lessy some juice." At least we know she can take orders pretty well.

Alex and Jordy, just being excited.

Tessa was lounging like this forever. If you can't see it, she has one leg up on the fireplace and one leg stretched out on the ground. She's bendy.

She got real posey at breakfast.

Alex and Doug boxed on the wii. I can't remember who won, but it was probably my boo. He usually does. Boo ya.

Tessa and Cailey. She got pretty posey then too.

She's pretty affectionate.

Welp, that's all for now. I have some way cute pictures of Tessa and Emma, her new bestie, but I haven't figured out how to get them onto the computer yet. So...yep.